


Bog

by Taarbas



Series: Surfacers [3]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Cats, Drabble, F/M, Fluff, he likes cats and you can all fight me about it, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 04:37:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6551326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taarbas/pseuds/Taarbas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>X6 finds a cat while out on a mission with Tracy. He attempts to hide it in his coat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bog

     If X6 never saw a rainstorm again in his life, it’d be too soon. “Ma’am,” He groused, shivering under his sodden coat. “You are going to get sick,” Tracy payed him no mind, happily walking through the downpour and occasionally jumping into puddles in the pockmarked road. He could’ve torn his hair out.She was the future of the Institute, she could not be getting herself sick. He knew his own feelings really had no weight in such a situation, but he was worried for her. He wanted her to be okay, which meant not running around in Radstorms and downpours and Deathclaw nests and radiation filled cesspools. Sadly, she seemed to have an attachment to all of those places. 

     “Relax, X!” She called back, her wet hair plastered to her face in inky strands. Somehow, her makeup wasn’t running. “I’ll be fine! I used to do this all the time, only in less clothing!” He rolled his eyes, shoving his hands under his arms as they walked. He hated the Commonwealth, with it’s shitty settlements and shitty food and shitty weather and- His train of thought was cut off by the sight of lights. Finally, the settlement they’d been trying to find. The thought of getting out of the rain put a slight bounce in his step, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. His teeth were threatening to chatter. “You look cold,” She teased, sidling up next to him. He glared with as much dignity as he could muster with his bottom jaw quivering. “You coulda said something. But then again, you  _ were _ the one who insisted we don’t stay in Goodneighbor any longer than we had too,” He glared straight ahead, cursing his own stupidity. Of course by making her leave and keeping her away from alcohol and disease and who knows what else in that mess would make her upset. Her logic was backwards most of the time. 

     “It wasn’t safe, ma’am. The Commonwealth is even less, but the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home, where it  _ is _ safe,” He replied, the shivering travelling down his whole body now. She noticed, her lips pursing as she grabbed his hands and pressed them to her chest, crossing her arms over them. 

      “Can’t imagine wet leather’s very warm,” She smiled apologetically, her wet suit clinging to her. He shook his head, flexing stiff fingers against her warm arms. Even now, soaked to the skin and with her breath starting to form plumes in front of her, she gave off heat. He was grateful, yet worried. “I think I have some extra clothes that may fit you in my pack,” She continued, no longer darting off to jump in dirty puddles. “They’ll hopefully be dry-ish,” He shuddered, shaking water droplets off his face. 

     “Your health is the priority, ma’am,” She rolled her eyes, muttering something he didn’t quite catch as they hit the edge of the settlement. The people here, at least, seemed smart enough to stay out of the rain. X6 hung back as Tracy went over to a barn, talking to a young woman in a sodden flannel shirt while he scanned the area. The last thing he wanted was some foolish settler attacking her. He found that for all the good the Minutemen did, all the good she did, people still wanted to hurt her. Some wanted to hurt her just because of him. Those encounters brought on special kinds of guilt and protectiveness. He’d shadow her even closer then, hand always resting on his rifle and ready to draw at a moment’s notice. Any drink from a stranger was deflected by him, or poured into a nearby plant. On one occasion, a particularly handsy settler got it poured down his front, though that wasn’t from him. His lip quirked at the memory, Tracy’s eyes flashing in anger as she up ended the drink over him with one hand and swung her first into his jaw with the other. He’d backed off very quickly after that. 

     He overheard the word “synth” from the general direction of the barn, and rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Of course. Some settlements flat out refused her help if he was with her. He had to hold his tongue at those, or else he’d no doubt start something. Not that he couldn’t finish it. It was just that Tracy got upset when he tried to do stuff like that, and he hated to see her upset. A fierce sort of attachment had formed between him and her, and no matter how one sided it may or may not be, he was determined to see her safe and happy. It scared him. Logically, the Institute should be his first priority, however he had found himself dropping hints to her in order to help her Railroad allies, or encouraging behaviors the Institute would disapprove of because she enjoyed them. Maybe he was just broken beyond repair. He was starting to care less and less about whether or not he was. He sighed, kicking his foot and scuffing the wet gravel. He wished they’d hurry up, it was freezing and he just wanted to find somewhere semi-dry to get his coat off at least. It was heavy when dry, but pile on rain? It wasn’t fun. Looking around, he spotted a small white house, no longer inhabited by anything but mold. Part of the overhang was intact, and with a relieved sigh he flattened himself against a ruined wall, somewhat shielded by the rain. The house was set lower than the rest of the settlement, and he was honestly surprised to see it hadn’t completely flooded. However, a large hole near what looked to have been a garage was completely filled with water, various debris and scum floating close to the top. From here, he could identify an old lamp, part of what had to be a shirt, some rotten wooden planks, and something black and furry. Wait a second. His head whipped around, staring at the small black lump in the water. He honestly had no clue what it could be, and as reluctant as he was to leave the safety of the overhang, he was curious. 

     His feet slid on the wet gravel as he approached, kicking some of it into the deep puddle. The matted mess of what almost looked like fur didn’t move, and against his better judgement he found himself plunging gloved hands into the icy water, extracting the lump. His eyes widened as he turned it over, small legs dangling limp in his grasp. It was a kitten, half-drowned and far too skinny. Its fur was patchy, the skin underneath a mix of angry red and ghostly white. X6 frowned, pressing against it and checking for a pulse. It coughed, a small, fragile sound, and before he could fully think through what he was doing he was unzipping his coat to the belt and tucking it against his chest, rezipping it up. The coat was tight enough to hold it against him as he made his way back under the overhang, rubbing the bundle gently. He doubted it would live, and logically he should of left it, but that same fierce desire to protect that came out around Tracy had come out around the small animal. Speaking of which, she was walking towards him. She looked frustrated, her shoulders set in a hard line and her jaw tight, but she tried to lose some of it as she got closer to him. “We can’t stay. They don’t want a synth here,” She shook her head, disgust contorting her features. 

     “You stay, ma’am. Your health is important, and the rain is doing you no favors,” 

     “And where’ll you stay? Out here? Nuh-uh. C’mon, there’s gotta be a semi-intact something around here,” She wouldn’t hear anything else, and so with a heavy sigh he trudged after her, discreetly shifting the bundle so it sat against his hip and was hopefully less noticeable. “Of all the rude, ungrateful, savage little fucks!” Tracy hissed when they were a safe distance from the settlement. “‘Abduct us in the middle of the night ‘e will! Kill our children, ‘e will!’ I’m about to if you don’t shut the fuck up!” She clearly was ranting to herself, so he only half listened, instead pulling the kitten out of his coat and unzipping the suit beneath it, just enough so it could rest against his chest and its head could poke out. He rezipped his coat, hoping Tracy wouldn’t notice. He hadn’t thought of a good excuse as to why he had picked up some mangy, half-dead animal that most likely had fleas. It was stupid of him, and yet he had to do it. “Can you believe them X?!” She snapped, throwing her hands up and spinning on her heel to look at him. He simply shrugged, not willing to admit he hadn’t listened to a word she said. “The nerve of some people! They thought you were some kind of mindless killing machine!” She shook her head, storming ahead to kick at a piece of scrap metal and stew in her anger. He was content to trail behind, turning over possible ways to help the kitten and nearly walking into her when she suddenly stopped short. “Did your coat just meow?” She asked, and he jumped, shaking his head no. 

     “Ma’am, I think we need to find shelter. You may be coming down with something,” She was poised to argue, but instead just sighed. 

     “You may be right. I think I remember seeing an old house this way,” It turned out the old house was through a waist high treck of mud, something X6 didn’t want to think of ever again in his life. The entire back of the house was destroyed, blown open by the bombs. However, the front was mostly in one piece, and there was even an intact bed. Tracy was giddy, grinning up at him at the sight. “We can sleep on something other than the floor!” She called, all but bouncing in excitement. He frowned. 

    “There is one bed ma’am,” She shrugged.

     “Who gives a shit? We can share. I promise I don’t snore, or kick, or bite,” He rolled his eyes, turning his back to her to unzip his coat. He honestly wasn’t sure what to do with the kitten now. To change clothes, he’d have to reveal it to Tracy. As soon as he reached for it, however, he found he didn’t need to inform her. The kitten let out a surprised meow as he went to move it, making him freeze. Tracy’s head snapped up, and she walked over, her suit off and leaving her in a pair of wet panties. “Oh my god X...where did you get that?” The kitten was plucked from his hand before he could protest, cradled in Tracy’s arms. “Ohhhh, it’s so cute! Did you name it yet?” 

      “Ma’am, it is likely to die,” He replied, the turn of events not at all what he was trained to expect. The kitten was almost dead anyway, it would almost be more merciful to finish it off. She grinned up at him, carefully handing it back.

     “Pish posh so was I and I’ve survived. I’ll get you some dry clothes, and I think I’ve got a spare shirt or something in here I can bundle it up in. Pick a name, would ya?” She walked away, and he was left staring at the sodden furball. It mewed weakly, cloudy eyes staring past him. Blind, then. A good chunk of its left ear was missing, the flesh healed but still ragged. Aside from that and the patchy fur, however, it was mostly okay. “Here ya go!” Tracy dumped a shirt and pants in his arms, snatching the kitten back and cradling it against her bare chest. “It’s so cute! Didya pick a name yet?”

     "Ma’am, please put on some clothes,”

     “Weird name,”

     “ _ Ma’am _ ,” 

     “I got pants on,” She stuck her tongue out him in a decidedly immature manner, walking away to fetch an old rag. She wrapped the kitten in it, rubbing her hands against its back in order to warm it. “Here, hold it like this,” Gingerly, she placed the bundle in his hands, instructing him on how to hold it and how to rub some warmth back into its small body. “I’ll see if I got any Mirelurk left. It’s cooked, but I’m sure they can still eat it, right?” X6 shrugged, enraptured by the tiny bundle slowly coming more and more to life under his hands. Where it once laid limp and silent, it was now beginning to squirm and mew, stretching a small, claw tipped paw up towards his face. He caught it in a gloveless hand, stroking the soft fur and smooth pads between his thumb and forefinger. Tracy smiled as she walked over, a small bit of Mirelurk clutched in her hands. “Not a lot left,” She admitted, “But enough to keep it fed for tonight,” She showed him how to feed it, and before long he was curled on the floor with the kitten mewling in his lap, kneading his leg. Tracy watched with a small smile, occasionally reaching over to stroke the now dry fur. It was sticking up just about everywhere, and desperately needed to be bathed, but X6 wasn’t going to complain. Cats weren’t allowed in the Institute, and he found he loved them already. 

     “C’mon friend, let’s get some sleep,” Tracy coaxed after a while, grabbing his arm and pulling him onto the bed. The kitten ended up between them, curled close to his chest with its paws pressed against Tracy’s breast. She smiled, shaking her head slightly. “You thought of a name yet?” He frowned, stroking its fur. 

      “Bog,” He said quietly, and she snorted.

      “Not the most typical, but I like it. Hey there, Bog. You’re stuck with us weirdos now,” She crooned, petting its small head. He smiled, tucking his arm under his head. The sound of the kitten purring between them lulled them to sleep. 


End file.
